Office of the Indiana Attorney General

A credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, is a consumer right provided by Indiana law. Placing a credit freeze on your credit reports can block an identity thief from opening a new account or obtaining credit in your name. A credit freeze keeps new creditors from accessing your credit report without your permission. If you activate a credit freeze, an identity thief cannot take out new credit in your name, even if the thief has your SSN or other personal information, because creditors cannot access your credit report.

Any Indiana resident can request a credit freeze free of charge. There is no fee for Indiana residents to place, temporarily lift, remove or request a new password or PIN. To place a freeze, either use each credit agency's online process or send a letter by certified mail to each of the three credit agencies:

Protected Person Security Freeze

As part of an ongoing effort by the Attorney General’s Office to help consumers protect themselves from identity theft and safeguard their credit, the Legislature in 2014 passed a new state law, Senate Enrolled Act 394 of 2014, creating the Protected Person Security Freeze. Because identity thieves could attempt to steal the information of individuals such as children or disabled adults who have clean credit history in order to assume their identities and perpetrate fraud, the 2014 law offers a security freeze for protected consumers, similar to the credit freeze for adults. Parents can use it to protect their children from identity theft even if the minors don’t have credit yet. For mentally disabled adults who also should be protected against identity theft, their legal guardians can register them for the security freeze.Below are links to the three credit bureaus’ Protected Person Security Freeze sites. For the free service, each of the three credit bureaus requires that consumers register a minor or a protected consumer in writing, by mail, rather than online. And each credit bureau has a slightly different format for registering for a security freeze for a minor or other protected consumer, so read the directions carefully.

Consumers who have questions about the Protected Person Security Freeze can contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-382-5516. More information is at this link: http://bit.ly/1IEAzg4